Vistas Online 2011

VISTAS Online is an innovative publication produced for ACA by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 900 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to 2017.

2011

Robert L. Smith

2011

Accountability in counseling, outcome based research, and evidence-based practices are topics that have been discussed and debated for several decades (West & Warchal, 2009). The profession of counseling has been part of that discourse, often challenging what actually constitutes evidence-based practices. Despite this discourse there is concurrence that the counseling profession needs to demonstrate evidence-based research that identifies best practices (Sexton, Whiston, Bleuer, & Walz, 1997). A call for more evidence-based research surfaced in the Journal of Counseling and Development (JCD; Marotta & Watts, 2007). A number of best practices in counseling were identified including a set of “common factors” found to be essential to client change, despite one’s theoretical orientation. Findings of evidence-based practices however, have focused mainly on individual counseling approaches in an attempt to demonstrate best practices for specific client problems. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as an example is identified as the treatment of choice for a number of mental health disorders including anxiety and clinical depression. CBT and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are often cited as treatments for trauma, including posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD).